Women and Children First is an intricately, carefully webbed net cast over a barely-fictional coastal Massachusetts town at the time of its latest tragedy. We see the story through the perspectives of a varyingly-yet-undeniably connected group of women and girls, bearing witness to their inner worlds and their relationships. There are many fantastic meditations on grief and so much keen-eyed metaphorical language, though at several points I was pulled from the story by an awkward or inaccurate phrase (so much chin touching... how many people get someone else's attention by grabbing/lifting/etc that person's chin? Everyone in Nashquitten apparently. And a warm glass of wine wouldn't sweat!). Regardless of these small faults, I thoroughly enjoyed living in the world of this book--and it's not just because I live maybe 45 miles from where I'd place Nashquitten MA on a map.